"Of course I'm worried. She's spiraling and I don't know how to help."
"Then help her after the game. Right now, you need to be here. With your team. Can you do that?"
Jake nodded, but it was a lie. His mind was with Lucy, imagining her sitting in the stands, doubting her decision, feeling alone.
The second period was better. Jake forced himself to focus, to be present. He assisted on a goal, made a crucial defensive play, and helped kill a penalty. By the time the third period started, the Wolves were up 3-2.
But in the third period, everything fell apart.
Jake went for a puck in the corner, got hit hard from behind, and felt something in his shoulder give. Not badly—not surgery badly—but enough that pain shot down his arm and he had to skate to the bench.
"You okay?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah. Just tweaked it."
"Take the rest of the period off."
"I'm fine—"
"That's an order, Morrison. Rest it."
Jake sat on the bench and watched his team play without him. They were good—Marcus made three incredible saves, Owen scored a goal that had the crowd screaming. They didn't need Jake to win.
And that realization hit harder than the hit that had injured his shoulder.
They didn't need him. The Wolves would be fine whether Jake was playing or coaching or had taken the Nashville offer. He wasn't essential. He wasn't the hero.
He was just a guy on a team. Doing his job.
The Wolves won 4-3. The team celebrated on the ice, but Jake couldn't shake the hollow feeling in his chest.
Lucy watched Jake get hit in the third period and felt her stomach drop.
He skated to the bench, clearly in pain, and didn't return to the ice. Rei grabbed Lucy's hand.
"He's okay. It's probably just a tweak."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm the team PT and I know what serious injuries look like. That's a minor shoulder aggravation. He'll be sore tomorrow but fine."
But Lucy couldn't shake the image of Jake being hit, the way his face had tightened with pain. What if it was serious? What if his shoulder—the one that had ended his NHL career—gave out completely?
What if she'd encouraged him to turn down Nashville and now he'd ruined his last chance?
After the game, Lucy waited outside the locker room with Rei and the other partners. When Jake finally emerged, he looked exhausted and was holding his left arm carefully.
"Hey," Lucy said.
"Hey."
"Your shoulder—"
"It's fine. Just a tweak."
"Rei said—"
"Rei's right. It's nothing serious." But Jake's voice was flat, distant. Nothing like the warm tone he'd had all week.
